Monthly Archives: July 2013

His true shooting percentage ranks 53rd among qualified PGs. His offensive points per possession mark of .88 ranks 260th overall. His defensive PPP mark of .90 puts him at 279th. His on/off court net of -4.4 ranked last amongst guards on the Milwaukee Bucks in ’12-13. As a pick and roll ball handler his shot selection often ranged from below average to downright maddening.

Yesterday the Bucks traded the guard to the Detroit Pistons, and in return they received his potential replacement in Brandon Knight. I say potential, because while the Bucks have seemingly been operating under a win-now mandate under owner Herb Kohl, Knight represents a considerable downgrade at the point guard position. He won’t be winning the Bucks any more games in the ’13-’14 than Jennings would have. He likely loses them significantly more if he’s given starter minutes.

• His true shooting percentage was only slightly better than Jennings, coming in at .512

• His shot-chart indicates below average efficiency at the rim, a location where he took the majority of his attempts:

• While he was a net negative on the court, just as all but two Detroit Pistons were last season, he did have the best mark amongst guards at -3.1. For reference, Rodney Stuckey was -7.4 and Jose Calderon was -10.7.

• His primary situation on offense came as a pick and roll ball handler, and in that role he generated .69 points per possession, an abysmal mark than ranked 133rd in the NBA. The Pistons only scored 34% of the time with Knight in that situation.

• The second most prominent role was in transition, where his 45% scoring mark ranks 276th.

• His third most prominent role was as a spot up shooter, and the numbers are no more encouraging. His PPP mark of .99 ranks 153rd in the NBA, thanks to the Pistons scoring on only 35% of those possessions.

• The Bucks can expect slight improvement on the defensive side of the ball: while Jennings allowed .9 PPP (279th), Knight allowed .87 (195th). It is notable that as a defender of the pick and roll ball handler, Jennings allowed 42% shooting and Knight allowed 45% shooting.

The Video.

When looking at PG play, it’s important to note how players work in a pick and roll setting. As noted above, Knight struggled with efficiency and turnovers. The following video illustrates some of those issues:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GewNYUlTnag&w=560&h=315]

It’s also important to look at how they performed in transition. Again, Knight struggled:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XddUZar59o&w=560&h=315]

Overall.

It’s difficult to reconcile having a win-now goal while adding one of the worst players in the entire league. The Bucks could conceivably play Luke Ridnour as the primary point point and be better than they were last season, but it’s unclear if that’s their intention at this point. What is clear is that Knight represents a significant downgrade at point guard, and for a team looking to compete for the 8th seed in the East, he severely hurts their chances if given any kind of substantial minutes.

For exactly one year I lived in an apartment in the city. I was a less than a block away from a farmer’s market, three bars, two cafes, one coffee shop, a volleyball court, a park, a bike trail and a convenience store. It was pretty great.

Now I live in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, a nature preserve across the street, the closest business is three miles away and it’s totally cool with me. A big reason why? This thing:

Mmmmm……blackened meat.

I love me some charcoal grilling and in an apartment on the second floor, that’s a no-no.

Grilling is one of my favorite ways to spend time. I’m the kind of person that comes home and before they’re even out of their office clothes has a chimney full of coals lit. A nice day to me is just an excuse to stand over some grilled food, tongs in one hand and a drink in the other.

Since this isn’t one of those things where you can have any other opinion other than GRILLING IS AWESOME, I’m gonna share a meal made almost entirely on the grill. Like a lot of my recipes, this one has southwestern influences. Like your food to have some heat? This one will be for you.

In a zip lock gallon bag combine the juice of two limes, the zest of two limes, two cloves of garlic (minced), ground chipotle pepper, 1/2 tsp of salt, a half cup of olive oil and the flat iron steak. Mix it to combine and coat the meat. Put the bag in your refrigerator for no more than six hours.

FAST FORWARD SIX HOURS.

Remove the steak from your fridge, let it sit in the marinated mixture on your kitchen counter and let it come to room temperature. This is important so don’t forget. You don’t want to be grilling cold meat.

If you’re using a charcoal grill, you can light your coals. I use a chimney starter and it usually takes at least 30 minutes to get the coals white. While your coals are getting ready, you can prepare the rest of your meal.

2 – Make the aioli.

There’s a restaurant in my town that serves a grilled tuna sandwich with a chipotle aioli. After having it once, I became obsessed and whenever I visit this place it doesn’t matter what I order, I have to have the chipotle aioli with it.

Thankfully, it’s really easy to replicate at home. You don’t even need to date one of the waitresses and coax the recipe out of them like some people have been known to do from time to time.

In a food processor, add the mustard, one smashed garlic clove, chipotle chiles with one tsp adobo sauce, juice of half a lemon, one egg yolk and a pinch of salt. While you process the mixture, SLOWLY pour 1/2 cup olive oil* into the bowl. This should take multiple minutes. You’ll know you’re finished when you’re left with something that has the consistency of mayo.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can simply use a large mixing bowl instead. Mince the garlic instead of smashing it, and strongly whisk olive oil into the mixture a few drops at a time. If you go this route you don’t have to worry about the calories you’re soon to consume, because you’re about to have a 15 minute workout in your kitchen.

*While we’re on the subject of olive oil, can I simply say that ya’ll need to step your olive oil game up? I cook in many of my friends and relatives’ kitchens, and it’s a lock that I’ll see the same crappy bottle of olive oil that they’ve had for an entire year or more. If you’re a home cook, quality olive oil important. Buy only high quality olive oil, and never keep a bottle (stored in a dark area) more than six months. If your olive oil is older than six months, toss it and go get a new bottle. I like California Olive Ranch, and for the aoili part of the recipe I used their Miller’s Blend for the peppery note.

When your aioli is complete, store it in a covered container in your refrigerator.

3 – Make the guacamole

God, I freaking love guac. I’m not kidding when I say I make at least two batches a week. Often times it’s three. I consider it to be the ALMOST perfect (seriously? The browning?) food. You will never look in my fridge and not find limes, avocados, cilantro (or that cilantro oil paste that comes in the tube [seriously. It’s actually perfect for guac]), red onions and jalapenos.

The order here is relatively important. You want to add the avocados last to minimize the exposure to air.

Use a fork (or a mortar, ideally) and mash your ingredients. You want it mixed well, creamy but still a bit chunky.

Put it in a AIR TIGHT container that just barely holds all your guac. Again, less air the better. Into the fridge it goes.

4 – Prepare your veggies.

This step is easy.

Julienne your bell peppers and remaining jalapeno and red onion*. Put them in your cast iron pan, drizzle them with a tablespoon of olive oil, add a pinch of kosher salt and a tablespoon of your favorite seasoning. I like Old Bay so I use that. Toss them around and these are ready.

*Reserve about half a bell pepper and half a jalapeno. Dice these and save them in a bowl. They’re going in your corn salad.

5 – Shuck the corn

Shuck your corn cobs, lightly coat them with olive oil and sprinkle on some kosher salt. Like almost everything else, you’re going to be grilling your corn. Some people prefer to leave the husk on the corn. I’m not one of those people. I grill them directly over the coals until about 20% of the kernels are good and brown.

IT’S GRILLIN’ TIME, PEOPLE.

Here’s about where you should be at:

Wait for it…

6 – Grill the corn.

Take a look at a picture of the grilled meat at the top of this post. Notice how I’m using a two-zone grilling setup? That’s what you want. Organize your coals so only one half of the bowl is filled. If you’re using gas, only light half the burners.

Using paper towels coated in olive oil and tongs, wipe the grates with olive oil.

Place the corn on the grates, directly over the coals. You’re going to rotate them every minute or so until the coals start to turn dark. Grilled corn is awesome.

When the corn is done, remove them and cover the grill to let it heat up. Bring them in to cool.

7 – Grill everything else.

Place the steak directly over the coals. Place the cast iron pan with your veggies on the side of the grate without coals. Occasionally toss the veggies with tongs.

After four minutes, flip the steak. Splash the veggies with your remaining half of a lemon and bring them in.

BE CAREFUL WHEN HANDLING THE CAST IRON PAN. I have a pair of industrial work gloves that I use when grilling. Use whatever you can to help you safely move your food around the grill.

After the four minutes are up, your steak should be a nice medium rare. Bring the steak inside.

8 – Tent your steaks in tinfoil.

One step a lot of people skip is they immediately dig in to their steak after grilling. You need to let it rest for a few minutes to retain much of the juices. I usually wrap my steaks in foil to keep them warm.

9 – Mix the rest of your corn salad.

Remember the diced pepper and jalapeño you kept in a bowl? To that bowl you’re going to add your no-longer-hot-but-still-warm grilled corn.

Using a knife, carefully remove the corn kernels by standing the cob up and slicing them off vertically.

Add them to the bowl of diced peppers and jalapeños, along with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp olive oil, the juice of half a lime and a pinch of kosher salt.

10 – EAT ALL THE FOOD.

YOU’RE DONE. EAT UP.NOTE: The Author does not endorse the use of sour cream. That is his brother.